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That's A Baby Show!
2018 March 5 1999 VHS # 2018 March 5 # Arthur's Family Feud # The Bet # Timmy the Train # Emily New Route ---- ---- The first face we see for this episode is Mary Moocow (how delightful). If this is Mary Moocow, there's something very odd though because it's definitely Arthur's room that she's in. Mary Moocow: Hello boys and girls! I'm Mary Moocow! And it's time for fun! Can you spell "fun?" As with any sort of exercise like this, there are a couple of unstated questions: *Can you guess what dumb musical number we're about to do?(Knowing of course that S.B. has a song about "fun") *Can you guess that if you don't know how to spell 'fun', we're about to tell you? Three cat-heads pop-up on Arthur's bed. Mary Moocow starts singing. The best word I know is F-U-N! F-U-N spells fun! The cat puppets hold up the letters in the word fun. First a dark blue F, then a pink upside-down U (the puppet notices this and fixes the error), and finally a light-blue N. Mary Moo Cow continues. I like F-U-N F-U-N F-U-N Let's spell it again! F-U-N F-U-N F-U-N spells... Mary Moocow is finally cut off by Arthur (in the background), who's realized that something is up. "Hold it! Stop the music!" he yells, and then races into his room, pointing at Mary Moocow. Arthur is quite animated and angry. He demands of Mary Moocow, "What are you doing in my room!?" Mary Moocow isn't fazed. She has a show to do. The music resumes... F-U-N F-U-N... Arthur: (covering his ears, having coniptions) Argh! Stop it! Arthur runs to a group of musicians seated in his room. There's a flying superhero elephant who is the same elephant who first appeared in Arthur Writes a Story and came from Planet Schmellafint, a male-cow, a female-cat, a male-pig, and one animal that maybe is a hippopotamus. A horse is a horse, of course, of course... oh sorry. It's obviously a male hippopotamus-person, the first one on the show to my knowledge. I say we need more of them. :) (the guitar playing hippopotamus aggressively opens his mouth really wide and you could see two hippo teeth on his upper jaw and two hippo teeth on his lower jaw) (the superhero elephant lifts up his trunk and trumpets really loudly) He chases them out, but someone else walks in that's certain to annoy him even more -- D.W. D.W.: Are they done already!? Arthur: (pointing to Mary) Did you let the cow in my room? Nooooo, surely not. The star character of D.W.'s favorite television show just happened to decide that Arthur's room would be a great place for an impromptu concert. D.W. had no knowledge of it whatsoever. D.W.: (who's beginning to walk out) Maybe. Arthur: What are you doing here anyway? This is when I get to talk! D.W.: I'm tired of you talking! Let's hear from someone new! Arthur: (blocking D.W. from leaving) No way! Mary Moocow is a baby show! D.W.: I like it! If I like it, maybe other kids like it! Arthur: (clearly aggravated, covering the camera with his hand) That's a baby show! I know I'm always complaining, but does it rub anyone the wrong way the way Arthur is more and more aware that he's in a television show during the teasers? It just somehow seems wrong. In other seasons, it's an occasional joke, and I like that, but I think it's been overdone lately, especially in the fifth season. Sure it's amusing the first time -- and apparently the movie 'Shrek' uses this to great effect, but on Arthur, it feels ever so slightly out of place. :) ---- ---- Arthur's climbing up to his treehouse, where his friends, Buster and Francine, have already made themselves comfortable. They're talking about a new television show called "Dark Bunny." Arthur's never heard of this show before, which shocks Buster and Francine. They (actually mainly Buster) explain the show to Arthur. We see the cartoon as they explain. Basically, Dark Bunny's a cousin of Bionic Bunny who lives on the dark side of town. He has an 'action tube' which he can launch down to become (da dum!) Dark Bunny. Dark Bunny's basically the Arthur universe's equivalent of the Batman cartoons. Arthur promises that he'll watch the show. Any guesses as to how that'll go? An outline of Dark Bunny zooms in and fills the screen, then we're taken to Arthur's house. Here we go with the spooky large heads again like back in the'' "Jekyll and Hyde"'' song in #31102- "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival". Unlike in that episode and others, this time it doesn't connotate evil, so much as a premonition of trouble to come. Arthur promises that he'll watch the show. Any guesses as to how that'll go? An outline of Dark Bunny zooms in and fills the screen, then we're taken to Arthur's house. Here we go with the spooky large heads again like back in the Jekyll and Hyde song in [http://www.angelfire.com/ma2/ecdc/31102.htm #31102- "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival"]. Unlike in that episode and others, this time it doesn't connotate evil, so much as a premonition of trouble to come. We see Mom with Baby Kate. The music of Mary Moocow is playing the background. Mom asks Arthur if he's going to bother D.W. about Mary Moocow, and he says no. Turns out he means it too. He plops down on the couch. He ends up getting into an argument with D.W. anyway because he tells her that he's going to watch "Dark Bunny" after "Mary Moocow" and D.W. tells him that he can't because it "scares her." Arthur realizes that the discussion is going nowhere. Arthur: Mom! Mom: In the kitchen! Arthur: Mom! Mom: In the kitchen! Finally Arthur and Mom meet and Arthur is able to lodge his complaint. I find this quite humorous as this is how stuff often goes around my house. Mom! Moooooom! Arthur begins babbling a lot of "You said, D.W. said" to his mother. Of course, the basic point is that he wants to see "Dark Bunny" and is satisfied with the response. He returns to D.W., announces, "Mom said I can watch 'Dark Bunny' after your baby show ends," and plops down with a comic book. They begin arguing. Arthur thinks that "Mary Moocow" is a baby show because it's always the same. D.W.'s not impressed in the least. She has her own take on everything "Bubonic Bunny": D.W.: There's trouble and no one calls Bionic Bunny. Things get worse. They call Bubonic Bunny. He fixes it. Big whoop! Arthur looks defeated by this explanation. D.W.'s not done yet though. "Mom! Mom! Mom..." Mom's still in the kitchen, and she tells D.W. to do something else while Arthur's watching 'Dark Bunny'. She tells Arthur that she's going to color and that the show that's really a 'baby show' comes on after 'Mary Moocow' -- the 'Love Ducks'. D.W.: Blech! D.W. leaves, but her talking has distracted Arthur from changing the channel. ---- 'The Love Ducks' begins, with the ducks quacking along to what my captions say is the 'Toreador's Song' from Bizet's Carmen. Narrator: Hello Love Ducks. The intro scenes for the 'Love Ducks' play. The images are very weird and psychedelic. It's also a transparent 'Teletubbies' parody! We see the Love Ducks (animated yellow, purple, green, and red rubber-duckie type ducks) swirling in a circle, streaming past a pulsing psychedelic flower (like something out of the 1960s) and more. Finally, there's Arthur. He's got that zombie look in his eyes, and there's a pulsating green filling his glasses. He declares, "This is so weird! I like it!" Some time passes, and we see the Love Ducks swimming in a pool, and then floating off towards a rainbow. Narrator: Goodbye Love Ducks, goodbye! ---- D.W. comes in and asks Arthur if it was scary. He's completely hypnotized and responds in a droning voice, "It was cool." We see Arthur walking away. The scene fades to Lakewood Elementary. Of course, Buster can't help but start right in. Buster: Was 'Dark Bunny' cool or what? Arthur says that he missed it, and blames D.W.. Luckily, this is no big deal with Buster. Buster: You'll get to see it tomorrow, right? No response from Arthur. * * * A Love Duck zooms by the screen... ...and takes us to the credits of Mary Moocow. There's a blue background with stars, and Mary Moocow is jumping over a crescent moon. The Mary Moocow show is just coming to an end. |} Meanwhile, Buster's watching 'Dark Bunny'. There's some kind of squid creature, the "Doctorpus" as it turns out -- an octopus who got a degree -- taking hold of Dark Bunny. Buster cries "Get away!" but it's too late. The shot moves away from the TV screen to Francine. She's watching as well, and she can't bear it. She covers her eyes. "No!" Her sister Catherine is studying a book and sighs, "Oh brother." * * * The Dark Bunny head zooms in and out again... ...taking us back to the 'Love Ducks'. Narrator: Good-bye Love Ducks. Goodbye. Arthur cuts the television off. Arthur: Okay D.W., you can come in now! * * * The yellow Love Duck sails past the screen. "Quack!" Buster, Francine, and Arthur are on a swingset. Francine and Buster are discussing/arguing 'Dark Bunny'. They ask for Arthur's input, and when he starts sputtering, and is unable to hold his own in the conversation, they stomp off. Arthur laments: Today I'm definitely watching 'Dark Bunny'. The Dark Bunny head zooms in and out again... ...and the next words we hear are... Narrator: Goodbye Love Ducks... D.W. walks in carrying a book, 'The Red Dog'. (As seen in #40101- "D.W.'s Library Card".) Arthur's gotten a bit smarter at concealing his love of animated ducks -- he changes the channel. Announcer: Brought to you by the Dark Bunny Comic Company. D.W. says that Arthur shouldn't watch scary stuff because he's getting jumpy and nervous. Arthur says he's not. Scene change by means of a spinning wheel of the four Love Ducks. Now Arthur and Buster are playing checkers in the treehouse. Brain's there, reading a book. Buster announces that he missed 'Dark Bunny' because his baby sister had watch the 'Love Ducks'. Brain bashes the 'Love Ducks' make Mary Moo-Cow sound a college geek. and then Arthur breaks down and starts defending it. Arthur manages to get himself out of the jam by saying that he's seen it before because he has a baby sister. Next we see Arthur in a store. He's in a brown trenchcoat, covering his mouth. He asks a cashier, who looks like something out of "Beavis and Butthead", if they have any copies of the 'Love Ducks' CD? Cashier-Rabbit: (getting on a store-mike) Do we have any copies of the 'Love Ducks' CD for this boy?! People in the store stare at Arthur. Arthur: I have a baby sister! Sometime, and as we'll see in a bit, this must a be a while later, Francine and Buster are talking about 'Dark Bunny' going home from school. Arthur chimes in, "Yeah, that's a good part!" and starts to walk off. Asked if he wants to play soccer, he says that he has to watch 'Dark Bunny' and is informed that it was moved to Saturday a week ago. Arthur comes up with another excuse. Arthur: I have to get home and, um, help my Dad butter toast! Arthur gets home and starts watching the 'Love Ducks'. Francine and Buster arrive, and Buster just wants to return a book, but Arthur ends up starting a huge fiasco because he's supposedly watching 'Love Ducks' with his baby sister, but she's escaped. "Kate, where are you!?" Buster finally returns the book and he and Francine start to walk off. Buster stops to imitate a duck. "Quack quack!" The next day at school, Arthur finds a purple love duck taped to his locker. He trashes it, walks into class, and asks Buster and Francine not to say anything about his watching the 'Love Ducks'. Francine: (loud, so everyone can hear) I won't say anything about you watching 'Love Ducks' every day! Binky chimes in. Binky: The 'Love Ducks!' What did you learn this week Arthur? Where your nose is?! Everyone laughs, except Arthur.As Arthur leaves the school, Buster puts his hand on Arthur's shoulder. Buster: You like you need a double-chocolate shake -- or two! As Arthur and Buster walk along, Arthur laments that he doesn't think he can ever go to school again. Buster's been drawn in by a store display though. He wants to know what it is, and Arthur explains dejectedly that it's the 'Love Ducks'. They go inside the store, and we hear the ducks quacking to "Beethoven's Fifth." Buster buys a "Love Ducks" CD and gets subjected to the same treatment as Arthur in the store. Back at the school, Francine asks Arthur, "You don't blame me because you like a baby show, do you?" Arthur's got an ally now though, Buster. He pulls up his shirt to reveal a picture of the 'Love Ducks', much like Arthur had a logo underneath his shirt in #30102 - "The Ballad of Buster Baxter" when he had 'Klesbemania.' * * * Later that day, the gang is gathered around a boombox in a field near the playground. They're in a circle listening to music from 'Love Ducks'. Francine and Prunella are at the ends of the circle at the lower left of the screen. Starting from Francine and going clockwise, there's: Francine, Buster, Arthur, George, Brain, Muffy, Binky, Sue Ellen, and Prunella Buster: Weird, huh?George: I've been watching it every day for a year. Category:Episodes Category:Warner, Home Video, 1999, VHS